COLUMBUS, Ohio
,
Aug. 03, 2017
(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
L Brands, Inc.
(NYSE:LB) reported net sales of
$767.7 million
for the four weeks ended
July 29, 2017
, compared to net sales of
$777.0 million
for the four weeks ended
July 30
, 2016. Comparable sales decreased 7 percent for the four weeks ended
July 29
, 2017. For July, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 4 percentage points and 5 percentage points to total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, respectively.

The company reported net sales of
$2.755 billion
for the 13 weeks ended
July 29, 2017
, compared to sales of
$2.890 billion
for the 13 weeks ended
July 30
, 2016. The company reported a comparable sales decrease of 8 percent for the 13 weeks ended
July 29
, 2017. For the 13 weeks ended
July 29, 2017
, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 6 percentage points and 9 percentage points to total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, respectively.

The company reported net sales of
$5.192 billion
for the 26 weeks ended
July 29, 2017
, compared to sales of
$5.504 billion
for the 26 weeks ended
July 30
, 2016. Comparable sales decreased 9 percent for the 26 weeks ended
July 29
, 2017. For the 26 weeks ended
July 29, 2017
, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 6 percentage points and 9 percentage points to total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, respectively.

The company stated that it expects to report second quarter earnings per share at the high end of its previous guidance range of
$0.40 to $0.45
per share.

To hear further commentary provided on L Brands’ prerecorded July sales message, call 1-866-639-7583, or log onto www.LB.com for an audio replay. The company will release its second quarter earnings after the close of the market on
Aug. 16
and hold its conference call at
9 a.m.
Eastern on
Aug. 17
.

ABOUT
L BRANDS
:

L Brands
, through Victoria’s Secret, PINK, Bath & Body Works, La Senza and
Henri Bendel
, is an international company. The company operates 3,077 company-owned specialty stores in
the United States
,
Canada
, the
United Kingdom
and
Greater China
, and its brands are sold in more than 750 additional franchised locations worldwide. The company’s products are also available online at www.VictoriasSecret.com, www.BathandBodyWorks.com, www.HenriBendel.com and www.LaSenza.com.

We caution that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this press release or the July sales call or made by our company or our management involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, our future performance and financial results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such forward-looking statements. Words such as “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “planned,” “potential” and any similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Risks associated with the following factors, among others, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect our financial performance and actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements included in this press release or the July sales call or otherwise made by our company or our management:

• general economic conditions, consumer confidence, consumer spending patterns and market disruptions including severe weather conditions, natural disasters, health hazards, terrorist activities, financial crises, political crises or other major events, or the prospect of these events;• the seasonality of our business;• the dependence on mall traffic and the availability of suitable store locations on appropriate terms;• our ability to grow through new store openings and existing store remodels and expansions;• our ability to successfully expand internationally and related risks;• our independent franchise, license and wholesale partners;• our direct channel businesses;• our ability to protect our reputation and our brand images;• our ability to attract customers with marketing, advertising and promotional programs;• our ability to protect our trade names, trademarks and patents;• the highly competitive nature of the retail industry and the segments in which we operate;• consumer acceptance of our products and our ability to manage the life cycle of our brands, keep up with fashion trends, develop new merchandise and launch new product lines successfully;• our ability to source, distribute and sell goods and materials on a global basis, including risks related to:

We are not under any obligation and do not intend to make publicly available any update or other revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the July sales call to reflect circumstances existing after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of future events even if experience or future events make it clear that any expected results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements will not be realized. Additional information regarding these and other factors can be found in Item 1A. Risk Factors in our 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

L BRANDS

JULY 2017

Comparable Sales Increase (Decrease) (Stores and Direct):

July2017

July2016

SecondQuarter2017

Second Quarter2016

Year-to-Date2017

Year-to-Date2016

Victoria’s Secret1

(10

%)

0

%

(14

%)

2

%

(14

%)

2

%

Bath & Body Works1

1

%

6

%

6

%

5

%

4

%

6

%

L Brands2

(7

%)

2

%

(8

%)

3

%

(9

%)

3

%

1 – Results include company-owned stores in the U.S. and
Canada
and direct sales.2 – Results include company-owned stores in the U.S.,
Canada
, the
U.K.
and
Greater China
and direct sales.

Comparable Sales Increase (Decrease) (Stores Only):

July2017

July2016

SecondQuarter2017

SecondQuarter2016

Year-to-Date2017

Year-to-Date2016

Victoria’s Secret1

(9

%)

(1

%)

(11

%)

1

%

(11

%)

1

%

Bath & Body Works1

(1

%)

4

%

4

%

3

%

2

%

4

%

L Brands2

(7

%)

0

%

(6

%)

1

%

(7

%)

2

%

1 – Results include company-owned stores in the U.S. and
Canada
.2 – Results include company-owned stores in the U.S.,
Canada
, the
U.K.
and
Greater China
.

Total Sales (Millions):

Second Quarter 2017

Second Quarter 2016

Year-to-Date 2017

Year-to-Date 2016

Victoria’s Secret1

$

1,351.0

$

1,469.1

$

2,597.5

$

2,850.3

Victoria’s Secret Direct

295.3

398.3

581.8

757.9

Total Victoria’s Secret

$

1,646.3

$

1,867.4

$

3,179.3

$

3,608.2

Bath & Body Works1

$

753.0

$

709.1

$

1,341.5

$

1,295.7

Bath & Body Works Direct

107.3

92.3

196.9

165.9

Total Bath & Body Works

$

860.3

$

801.4

$

1,538.4

$

1,461.6

VS & BBW International2

$

113.9

$

99.7

$

217.2

$

195.0

Other

$

134.5

$

121.2

$

256.6

$

238.8

L Brands

$

2,755.0

$

2,889.7

$

5,191.5

$

5,503.6

1 – Results include company-owned stores in the U.S. and
Canada
.2 – Results include retail sales from company-owned stores outside of the U.S. and
Canada
, royalties associated with franchised stores and wholesale sales.